A King's Duty
by SniperCT
Summary: Fantasy AU. Only a mortal can kill a god. Four years into her reign as King, Lara must set out on a quest to destroy a Goddess, to protect her kingdom and her family. Her quest will take her across the world and square her off against some of the most powerful beings in the land. Direct sequel to Ser Croft and it's highly recommended to read that one first.
1. Prologue

Sam knew something was amiss. Though I tried my hardest, I could not keep it from her for long. I had to tell her that I must leave her and our son. I didn't know how. It's not as though I wanted to leave. Our kingdom was at peace. It would not last if I denied Natla her wish. She was a demon at best and she held a sword to my family's throat.

The politics didn't bother me. Sam had proven an effective Queen, much to the surprise of many. She hardly needed me, not for that. But I could not protect anyone if I was absent. Yet I could not protect anyone if I stayed. A rather impotent king, I was.

Late into the night, I made preparations. My sword and daggers, my bow. I'll need supplies, enough for several weeks and coin to replenish. Without knowing just how far from my kingdom I'll travel, I decide it's best to take simple gold coins, and while my armor would bear my crest, it didn't look like the sort of gaudy trash a king would wear.

The sword wasn't my royal sword. That belonged here, with Sam and with the kingdom where it belonged. I preferred the weight of _Endurance_. Roth's sword. The only family heirloom that mattered to me.

With the supplies readied and a horse prepared, I pored over some maps. Our Kingdom, Nishia, lay on the forks of two great rivers. They met, and swept into the sea to the south. To the north and the north east were craggy mountains. West stretched across plains towards craggy hills, and past that lay the Empire of the Sun, once ruled by King Mathias. At it's heart lay the aptly named Solaris. I've never seen it myself, and there isn't a man or woman alive in this kingdom that knows what it looks like, but travelers and merchants have described a vast city, with miles of streets and a labyrinth of buildings, all spiraling around a hill that culminates with a tower made of blood-red stone and shimmering glass.

Beyond that, my maps become useless filled with more myth and legend than fact. What little I've found of this Himiko told me that she was rumored to control storms, and that Sam's family line can be traced to her kingdom, five thousand years ago.

It was such a huge number that I dismissed the idea as preposterous. In our records, few go back even a thousand years, let alone five times that number.

"Your _majesty_."

A mocking voice distracted me from my map, and I looked up into Sam's eyes. Sam's very angry eyes.

"Just what do you think you are doing?" She slapped her hands down on the table, scattering my maps and making me back peddle to a safe distance.

"Sam, I can explain." I hold up my hands, ducking as she threw a scroll at me. "Sam, listen to me!" I duck again and move in close, grabbing my wife by her wrists and holding her hands over her head. She wrapped a leg around my waist and twisted us. We landed on top of the table, which creaked. Sam was pinned, but her legs were like a vice around me, holding me in place on top of her.

"Explain then," she said, and rocked her hips against mine.

My voice sounded as strained as I felt. Even after four years she could make my blood run hot with a simple action or smoldering look. "Must you torture me?"

"You can't _leave_ me, Lara." The mood abruptly shifted. I let go of her wrists, and stroked my fingers along her face. She had a forlorn expression and it broke my heart.

"I have to. Natla was not satisfied with Mathias. I have another task and I will be gone for many months." I put a finger over her lips. "No, you cannot come with me. You've the kingdom to rule over, and our son to protect in my absence. Reyes can help you with this. But as long as Natla holds a sword over us, I have to ... I have to do this. For everyone."

"Lara…" Sam's voice was cracking, but I had to stand my ground. This was too important. Her life was at stake, our son's life was at stake.

"Lara, I'm _pregnant_ again."

Her words sank in pretty quickly, and I think of that damned magical tree Natla planted that somehow helped produce our son. The Queen refused to let me destroy it, fearing that doing so would harm Conrad. I felt a little dizzy. "Are you sure we shouldn't burn that tree?"


	2. Departure

I don't get a chance to leave for several more nights. I'm reluctant, anyway, to leave Sam and our son. Sons. Or possibly a daughter (and I was rather hoping for the latter). I will be gone for many months, and children grow so fast. I knew that I would miss the birth of our second child. I do not trust that accursed tree, but part of me is excited anyway. For the children alone, it was enough to push me to fulfill Natla's task. And for Sam too, it was all the more urgent. Still, I hope that Conrad does not hate me for leaving.

At least this way I was able to properly prepare my supplies for travel. I was going over the maps again when Sam came in. She looked down at the table, as though she weren't able to meet my eyes. So I reached over and turned her head towards me. "What is it?"

"I don't want you to go, but I can't stop you." We'd already had this argument three times, and I was grateful that Sam seemed to have run out of things to say.

"You can run things just fine without me. I'm a soldier, Sam. A Knight. I was never meant to rule."

She rolled her eyes, but I could see the briefest glimmer of a smile on her lips. "So this is an excuse to play with swords for a few months?"

"Naturally," I told her, lifting her up to sit on the table. I leaned in, pinning her hands to either side of her. This was deathly serious, this thing we joked about, but it helped to ease the tension in my stomach and the fear in Sam's eyes. Gently, I said, "I _will_ return to you, Sam. I promise."

"Crofts always keep their promises," she responded. Her lips found their way to mine, and as always I was drawn into her, unable to resist. Sam tasted so sweet, and I made sure I had my fill of her. Gentle caresses and soft gasps gave way to needy desperation. And my maps? I could always get new maps.

Rain heralded my departure the next morning, a fine mist that made my hair stick to my neck while droplets pinged off of my epautlets. I knelt to hug Conrad, to hold him and remember his warmth. "I love you." I still remembered how I'd last seen my father. He hadn't said a proper good-bye. He hadn't even had time to say he loved me, so I told Conrad that often. "Help Reyes take care of your mother. I'll be back soon and I know you'll make me proud."

I stared into his eyes, so much like my own, then picked him up as I stood. His small arms looped around my neck as I turned towards Sam and Joslin. The blacksmith and her daughter stood near the Queen as I reluctantly transferred Conrad into Sam's waiting arms. "So this is it."

Sam squared her shoulders, and that inner strength she so often hid seemed to cement her to the ground. "Ten months, Lara. I'm giving you ten months then I'm sending someone looking for you. Do you understand?"

"Eighteen. Ten months is too soon, I have to travel very, very far."

Something angry flashed in her eyes, but she relented and nodded her head. I felt ice in my chest, and I knew I couldn't leave it like this. If something happened, I didn't want her last memory of me to be steeped in anger. I stepped close to her. "Sam, when I come back, this will be settled, and we will have the rest of our lives together. I need you to trust in my ability. _Trust_ in me."

She swallowed, her throat bobbing, but she nodded her head. "I love you. I trust you. I'm just scared."

"It's okay to be scared." I take her hand and kiss it. "I'll be back before you know it."

I turned as she said, "I'll keep a candle going for you. So you can find your way home."

"Then I'll have something to look for in the night."

My words haunted me as I traveled West. Two days of constant rain that seemed to follow me, and I wondered if it were some kind of curse from Natla. The only thing I looked forward to just now was a hot meal and a warm bed, in precisely that order. Through the downpour I could see town lights in the distance. The last time I'd been here had been during the invasion, and our desperate flight to keep Sam alive.

The village was locked up tight against the storm, but when I stepped into the tavern it was pretty lively. A pretty, redheaded barmaid smiled at me, and I felt momentary suspicion. But not every barmaid was _Natla_.

"I'd just like a room, and whatever you've got simmering in a pot," I said. I kept my voice low, and with the shorter hairstyle I'd adopted following the war it would serve to obscure who I really was.

"Of course! Come this way, I can have it sent up if you'd like?"

I looked around at the tavern, then glanced back at her. "That would be fine, thank you."

While it might be valuable to listen to the goings on of the land, I wanted to clean up and warm up before mingling with people. She gave me another smile, this one laced with a promise I couldn't take her up on, before turning to lead me up the stairs. At the entrance to my room, she held the door open for me. "Is there….anything else I could get you."

"That will be enough, thank you." I gave her some coins, and tried to ignore the disappointed look that crossed her face. All I ever would need is Sam and there were few people in this world besides her who could make my body react against my will.

The stew was delicious, and between that and the blankets I wrapped myself in I warm up. I had become accustomed to sleeping nude through habit (just one more thing I could blame Sam for), but that wouldn't do here. We'd spent hours discussing how I would conduct myself while traveling, and disguising my identity was of the utmost concern. To prepare for sleep, should I be rudely awoken, I wore loose trousers and an ill fitting tunic, underneath of which was a tight fitting shirt I usually wore under my armor. It made it easier to fight and had the side-effect of hiding my gender from any prying eyes.

I slid into bed, then sorted through one of the pouches Sam had given me. Inside was a jade pendant with some sort of swirling pattern to it. Sam had included a note. She'd found it in the vaults and wanted me to have it for good luck. I immediately pulled it on, then noticed there were some markings on the back of the note. I looked at them, the heaviness on my heart lifting. Conrad had drawn the three of us together. Crude, but as a mother, it was the most beautiful piece of art I'd ever seen.

The rain stopped sometime during the night, and the lack of sound was the thing that woke me. It was so quiet, and so desolately still. I laid there, straining my ears. It felt like something was in the air, something that made the muscles in my body tense.

During that pregnant pause, before all hell broke loose, I grasped the hilt of my sword. I was already standing when I heard the crashing downstairs, and throughout the town came the sounds of splintering wood. Someone screamed. I pressed myself flat against the wall next to the door. When the bandit burst in, I ran him through. The fighting continued downstairs, so I kicked my packs under the bed and then stepped out into the hall.

The redhead from earlier lay in a pool of her own blood, eyes glassy as she stared away into nothing. She'd done nothing to deserve this, but I had to cool my anger. If these were more than simple bandits, than there were other girls who'd meet much more grisly fates.

Kneeling, I closed her eyes, then crept down the hall, and leaned around the corner to look down the stairs. The tavern was a wreck, two bandits picking through the rubble. I counted three bodies. Behind me, I heard other doors open. I turned and lifted my fingers to my lips, and prayed the other guests would stay put.

If Sam were here, she'd tell me that a sane person would run down the stairs, instead of leaping over the railing like I did. I landed hard on the first bandit, my sword sinking through the back of his shoulder and into his heart. Blood splattered the other man as I pulled it out, just in time to parry a clumsy blow. He was slow, and predictable, and he joined his friend in seconds.

The sky swirled ominously overhead, the break in the storm seemingly centered on this town. I surprised one bandit, dispatching him as quickly as the others. Town guards battled down the street and I ran to help, scooping up a rock as I moved. It shot through the air, hitting an attacker in the head, and the distraction gave the guard the edge he needed.

I saluted him with my sword, then rounded another building. Bandits were pulling a family out of a house. Darting forward, I cut through one, bringing my sword up to block a counter attack from his comrade as he reacted to my arrival. It was the first challenge of the night, comparatively. He was clearly trained, probably by the army, but his style was rigid. I slapped his sword out of his hand, then gutted him.

As his entrails spilled onto the muddy ground, I wondered why I didn't feel so _sick_. Perhaps it does get easier. Perhaps watching Roth die hardened me to such things. I didn't really know. I look at the woman and her daughter, and any guilt I feel eases. They'll live because of me.

"Return to your home, miss. You'll be safer there while we clear out these bastards." It was starting to rain again, my hair plastering to my scalp. My overshirt was going to cling to me in short order and my undershirt didn't completely hide my curves. So much for secrecy.

"They've never come into town before," She said, expression dazed. "They've always ambushed people on the roads, but they've never come into town."

"Something drove them here…" Her words worried me. If bandits have been attacking people on the road, why have I not heard of this before? I resolved to send a message to Sam, so that she could increase patrols. In the mean time, I needed to find out what made them desperate enough to come into town. "Please, go inside. This will be a long night, but I promise you will stay safe."

I took off at a brisk run as soon as they were safe. All told there were a dozen bandits - most of which were killed, and the remainder captured. Too many of the townspeople were hurt or dead, and I pulled the constable aside. Reluctantly, I flashed my seal. "I'd like to find out what drove them here, before I depart. They will be punished, and I will increase patrols in the country-side so this does not become a problem again."

He looked a little starstruck. The man was portly and this was probably the most action he'd seen since the war. "Yes...yes your majesty! But I wager I know what did it! Wyverns!"


	3. Allegiance

Wyverns. I'd heard tales of such beasts. My books spoke of them as a lesser form of dragon. Something beneath a drake on the grand scheme of things, but with a poisonous sting and an even nastier attitude. Sam once joked that they acted in such a way to make up for the fact that they weren't actually dragons. There are several ways to kill one, but I could sum it up in just a few words. Stick the pointy end into it's head or heart. I could do that. I'm rather good at that.

It was a long day's ride to where the bandits' camp had been, and when I arrived the place was in ruin. Their tents and shacks had been destroyed and the stink of the dead bodies littering the ground made my stomach turn. Many of them had been chewed on or partially eaten, and I followed the trail into a cave. There were many twists and turns and tunnels inside, and I crept along, wary of traps or sudden pitfalls. The wyvern had been less headful, and I needn't have worried. Most of the traps had been sprung by it's passage, so it was really the only threat I faced.

The only thing I could hear was my breath steaming against my faceplate, and the soft dripping of water from somewhere above. But the farther into the caverns I went, the better I could sense the Wyvern. When I could finally hear it, It moved with a rustling sound, like a snake or lizard, and every so often it would let out a rumbly growl.

There was a soft blue glow from some fluorescent fungus on the cavern walls. It illuminated the creature's new lair, bright enough to see the shape and the way it's scales shimmered. I crouched when it stirred, and waited for it to settle back down before moving closer once again. I had to kill it, before it could represent a greater threat to my people than it already was.

I drew my sword and lifted it above my head. But the beast moved suddenly and my strike missed, sparking off of stone. I dodged to the right as it's tail crashed into the ground where I'd been standing. Steam hissed from it's poison, and the sickly green liquid bubbled as it ate into the rock. I didn't like the chances for my armor. It reared up on it's hind legs, beating its wings in the air as it shrieked. The sound made my ears ring and I nearly got hit by it's tail again.

If it could breathe fire, it wasn't trying yet, so I kept most of my attention on that tail. It beat its wings again. It was _taunting_ me. I beat my sword on my shield and shouted. "Is that the best you can do, you ugly bastard? Come and get me!"

It lurched forward, spraying fire in a large arc in front of it. I ducked under the blast and rolled to the side as its tail struck the ground next to me. Then I grabbed on, pressing my knee against the bulbous growth at the tip, and started to cut with a knife. When the tip broke away I jumped back to avoid the acidic spray. Either the poison or it's blood, I wasn't sure, but I didn't want to stay close enough to find out.

The wyvern's roar was deafening. I charged straight for it, disorienting it with a blow from my shield. It reared up, and I plunged my weapon into it's stomach, and slashed into its heart. It bellowed once more, then fell to the ground and lay still. Leaning back against a boulder, I let out a breath. "Ugly. And you reek, too."

I bypassed the town on the way back. The sun was still high in the sky and I wanted to make as best time as I could before nightfall. I'd never done anything like that before. I'd fought in the tournament, and vanquished Mathias who called himself a god but really wasn't. But I'd never fought a beast from my father's stories before. That was something _else!_ I wondered what else was out there? I doubted I was pure enough to ever see a unicorn, nor would I kill one, but I'd love to test my mettle against a real dragon. I'd weaken it with arrows first, I thought. Like I should have with the Wyvern. A lesson for next time.

I was _jubilant._ I thought of all the ways I could tell that story Sam and Conrad and Conrad's sibling as I poked a fire to life to cook my dinner. I'd slain a _wyvern_ and today I felt like I could do anything, and face anything.

"Well _someone_ is in a good mood."

Natla's sultry voice deflated my good mood as surely as a funeral dirge. I turned to look at her. The firelight danced over her skin, which shimmered in reds and oranges and yellows. It made shadows flicker, and she seemed to _glow_. Her wings folded down against her back, and I tried to ignore the dryness in my mouth. "Not any longer. What do you want?"

"You are certainly taking your sweet time, your _majesty._" Natla rested one long, razor claw underneath my chin and forced me to look at her. "The longer you are away, the _harder_ it will be to ensure the safety of your kingdom and queen."

"I couldn't leave that creature to terrorize my people." I definitely met her eyes. It was certainly better than looking anywhere else. The demon had no shame.

"Yes, yes, how heroic of you," she replied, sounding as bored as the expression on her face. Her claw punctured my skin, but I didn't let myself flinch. I just gazed steadily at her as she spoke. "Destroying that terrible creature. I'm sure your subjects will sleep better tonight. But you… You still have so far to go."

"I wasn't aware I was on a timeline."

"Did I neglect something?" She laughed, pulling away and striding around my camp. Natla stretched out her wings, and brushed my face with the outside of one. I expected it to be rough, like the skin of a lizard or dragon, but it was soft and subtle. I thought of the damage I could do to it if I had half a chance. "Oh right. You only have until the next solstice. So six months, give or take."

I got to my feet and paced around, never letting my eye off of her. "Funny that you didn't mention that before."

"I wasn't expecting you to dawdle." Natla moved incredibly fast, wrapping her wings around me and digging her claws into my throat. "Fulfill your oath to me, woman who would be King. _Never_ forget that you owe everything to _me_."

Her eyes dipped to my lips, and I turned my head as she nuzzled her face into my neck. I felt teeth, sharp ones, and then blood dribbling out from the punctures. A surge of guilt washed over me at how my body responded, despite the pain. Or perhaps because of it. My heart raced and my breathing grew ragged, but I did not move an inch. Her head moved, and her tongue flicked at the cartilage of my ear. "To whom do you owe _allegiance_?"

I said nothing, and the silence droned on. Her claws dug in deeper and her teeth bloodied my ear, but she only got a grunt out of me. "What was that?"

My voice was less steady than I would have liked, but anyone besides her probably wouldn't be able to tell. "My people. I owe allegiance to them, and no other. Not even a god."

She pulled back. Despite the hardness of my eyes and my stance, she looked _pleased_. "Perhaps I chose wisely, then." With a single leathery flap of her wings, Natla shot skyward. I watched her go, my hand on my ear.

Natla's words were carefully chosen. The longer I take, the more likely that some harm would come to Sam or Conrad, or my people. I let myself have a few minutes to savour the thought of ripping that bitch's wings off, before I broke camp. Six months was much less time than I'd planned for and I had to swallow the panic before it consumed me. I would eat on the go. I'd sleep on the go if I had to. I set my sights west with the same inexorable focus that I have for any goal. Somewhere, perhaps in my own imagination, I could hear Natla's laugh.


End file.
